Jason Wang

How will Milwaukee’s starting pitching picture manage the potential loss of yet another promising arm to the injury bug? Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports It has been a difficult season for Brewers starters, to say the very least. Their combined ERA of 4.11 is 17th in MLB, but more importantly, the team currently has five names from the rotation on the injured list: DL Hall (15-day, knee), Jakob Junis (60-day, shoulder), Joe Ross (15-day, back), Brandon Woodruff (60-day, shoulder), and Wade Miley (60-day, elbow). Now, they may soon have a sixth. Since making his major-league debut on May 10, Robert Gasser has a 2.57 ERA over 28 innings pitched. Great stuff from the lefty rookie so far, but it seems his campaign may suffer a substantial disruption. On Jun. 3, manager Pat Murphy stated that Gasser was dealing with some tightness and soreness in his elbow, and would be taking a closer look to make sure there wasn’t any serious damage. The next day, Murphy said that Gasser may miss time but that the first MRI looked encouraging. The team will continue examining his elbow, but given the nature of this issue and the risk of sending him back out there with any lingering doubt, it seems likely Gasser will spend at least some time on the injured list. What should we make of this? Does this mean the rotation is doomed, with three skull emojis? One major impact of these constant injuries is the disproportionate amount of responsibility being placed on the bullpen. The Brewers rank dead last in the number of innings pitched by starters, at 285, 14 fewer than the 29th-ranked Giants. They've gotten a good look at life on the other end of the street this week, as the Phillies currently lead MLB with 368 ⅓ innings pitched by starters. Consequently, Milwaukee relievers have pitched 256 ⅓ innings, nearly the same as the rotation. In 2023, starters pitched a whopping 877 ⅓ innings for the Crew, while the bullpen handled just 565 ⅔. With just over 100 games to go, relievers have already accumulated nearly half the total workload as last year. One could argue that this may be good, since facing a parade of high-powered, diverse relievers can be tricky for opposing batters, but a lack of healthy, rested late-inning arms can also be disastrous. Furthermore, while the team might be able to skirt by for the remainder of the regular season on the strength of their stellar offense and relatively weak division opponents, a rotation in poor health is a recipe for playoff disaster. Freddy Peralta and Colin Rea have pitched well thus far, but regression may be coming soon--especially for Rea, whose FIP is an entire run higher than his current ERA. Even if they don't regress, are those two enough to lead the team through a playoff series in a very competitive National League? Not all is lost, of course. Before you fall to your knees and begin to weep uncontrollably while donning the vintage Don Money jersey your strange uncle passed down to you before he switched to being a cricket fan, there are a few bright spots on the horizon. First, Joe Ross is set to return around mid-June. He’ll soon begin his rehab assignment with the Nashville Sounds in Triple-A, and is slated to throw a bullpen this weekend. He hasn’t been great, but he also only made nine starts before taking time off, so maybe he comes back healthier and more effective. It has also been three years since his last major-league season, so it should be expected that he’ll take time to reach his final form. Second, although DL Hall injured his knee recently during his own minor-league rehab assignment, there's some tentatively encouraging news there, too. He’s getting his knee examined more closely by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon well-known for his work with athletes, and ElAttrache has said that based on preliminary scans, his MCL is intact. Before tweaking his knee again, things seemed good while pitching in Triple-A. Third, Jakob Junis has also begun his own rehab assignment, pitching two innings with three strikeouts and allowing no baserunners. He’ll need some time and might be used in a multi-inning relief role, rather than as a starter, but his recovery is progressing pretty smoothly, all things considered. Even if Gasser does end up missing time, it might not be very long. It seems more like a precautionary measure, and taking early action can help prevent future issues. We’ve yet to find out exactly what the extent of his elbow problems are, but for now, remember that not all hope is yet lost. Milwaukee has hobbled their way to a 36-25 record, six games ahead of the Cubs, and are given a 65.9% chance to win the division by FanGraphs. Despite these challenging times, the team has found a way to win, and who’s to say it won’t stay that way? View full article

It was an exciting month for the Milwaukee farmhands, with players at all levels of the minor leagues showing up and showing out. Honorable Mentions Ramón Rodríguez (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) 71 PA, .263/.366/.456, 15 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 11 RBI, 9 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP, 1 SB Rodríguez is a catching prospect that became a minor league free agent after six full seasons. His last season in the crowded Orioles system was lackluster, spending most of his time in Double-A with a .666 OPS. He signed a deal with the Brewers late last December and was initially assigned to the Biloxi Shuckers before being moved down. He’s a little old to be in High-A at 25 years old and even then, he struggled immensely in his first month with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. After posting a .495 OPS in April, he managed to turn things around in a big way and was one of the best hitters on the team. His future with the Brewers is uncertain given several factors including his current level of play and the fact that Milwaukee is already rich in catching talent. Whether he’ll even be able to continue the momentum he started in May still remains to be seen. Filippo Di Turi (ACL Brewers) 93 PA, .343/.505/.514, 24 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 5 SB, 21 BB, 15 K Filippo Di Turi is an 18-year old shortstop out of Venezuela that signed a minor league contract with the Brewers in January 2023 and started off his career in the DSL. Since starting the year in rookie ball, he’s put his dominant on-base skills on full display, boasting a .500 on-base percentage so far this season. He’ll need to keep it up if he wants to make the majors one day as his power received a mere 30-grade from scouts. Despite his shortcomings, he's still the #29 ranked prospect for the Brewers. Regarding his approach, MLB.com writes: Carlos Rodriguez (Biloxi Shuckers) 78 PA, .391/.462/.464, 27 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 8 R, 12 RBI, 9 BB, 5 K, 1 SB Not to be confused with the #6 ranked pitching prospect (that’s Carlos F. Rodriguez), Carlos D. Rodriguez is an outfield prospect from Venezuela who signed his first contract with the Brewers back in 2017. In his first year in Double-A, he’s at a .744 OPS but saw a big jump in performance from April to May. After spending some time on the injured list, he came back healthier and better than ever, jumping from a .595 OPS in April to a .925 OPS in May. He’s been excellent at hitting for average but lacks threatening power, with just four of his 27 hits in May being for extra bases with no home runs. In fact, he’s still yet to hit his first home run of the season. He’s only 23 years old so he has time to continue growing and developing but with a total of just ten home runs in his 1,581 career plate appearances, he probably won’t ever be a long ball threat. Best Minor League Hitter of the Month: Brewer Hicklen (Nashville Sounds) 90 PA, .230/.344/.622,17 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 16 R, 24 RBI, 11 BB, 23 K, 3 HBP, 6 SB What can we really expect from a guy named Brewer who plays in the Brewers system? Unlike the other names on this list, Hicklen was more dependent on his power than his on-base ability to get the job done. His 46 total bases was the most out of any Brewers minor league player in May, largely driven by his eight home runs. Hicklen is an interesting player. At 28 years old, he’s already on the older end of players in Triple-A. He already made his major league debut with the Royals in 2022, accumulating a whopping four plate appearances before spending all of 2023 in Triple-A and signing a free agent contract with Milwaukee. I’m not exactly sure what conditions are necessary for him to be called up to the Brewers but given the sheer amount of competition in the outfield, it may be an uphill battle to make it back to the show. Nonetheless, he’s been a remarkable bat for the Nashville Sounds so far this year, posting a cumulative .983 OPS with 11 doubles and 11 home runs over 201 plate appearances. View full article

For the most part, Milwaukee’s relievers are just as effective this year as they were last year. But what sort of roster moves, if any, are needed for them to be even better? Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports Thus far, 2024 has been a good year for pitchers, with the league-average ERA decreasing from 4.33 in 2023 to 3.94. Thus, although Brewers relievers have combined for a 3.47 ERA (just .007 higher than last year), they’ve dropped from second to sixth in MLB. Part of this is due to the Guardians and Yankees having (likely) unsustainable ERAs under 3.00, but other factors exist. Devin Williams hasn’t had a chance to pitch all year, Bryse Wilson has been thrust into the starter role, and constant injuries have caused some players to miss time or have diminished performances. Let’s start by taking a high-level overview of each bullpen arm and how they’ve pitched thus far. IP ERA FIP WHIP K/9 Bryan Hudson* 32.0 1.13 2.89 0.75 10.4 Hoby Milner* 29.0 3.10 3.25 1.07 9.3 Elvis Peguero 25.2 2.81 2.87 1.52 8.1 Jared Koenig* 25.1 2.13 3.66 1.11 7.1 Joel Payamps 21.0 3.86 3.48 1.00 7.3 Trevor Megill 15.0 2.40 1.81 1.07 12.6 Kevin Herget 7.2 2.35 4.45 0.91 7.0 Enoli Paredes 7.0 0.00 1.57 0.14 9.0 Janson Junk 5.0 9.00 5.14 2.80 5.4 Based on this information, a few things become apparent. First of all, Milwaukee has some great lefty pitchers. Second, Trevor Megill has done an admirable job filling in the closer role in Williams’ absence. Third, there’s definitely room for improvement, especially when it comes to getting strikeouts and limiting traffic on the basepaths. Current Roster Bryan Hudson was a low-key offseason acquisition from the Dodgers that has panned out excellently. After being designated for assignment, he was shipped over from Los Angeles in exchange for LHP prospect Justin Chambers. Since the start of the season, he’s accumulated 1.6 rWAR, the most of any pitcher and the fifth-most on the team. His sweeper has been notably effective, with an opposing batting average of just .056, a whiff rate of 41.5%, and a strikeout rate of 46.3%. Jared Koenig is another unexpected star who signed with the Brewers after a frustrating Triple-A season in the Padres system. His 2.13 ERA might be unsustainable as his FIP and WHIP are disproportionately high, and he has a relatively low strikeout rate (19.0%). His cutter is especially concerning, as it has an opposing slugging percentage of .476 and is his second most-used pitch. Hoby Miler and Elvis Peguero have been holding down the fort and have remained pretty consistent compared to last year. Milner doesn’t have the same 1.82 ERA he did in 2023, but his strikeout rate is up slightly, and last year’s FIP of 3.13 may have indicated that a sub-2.00 ERA for Milner was the exception, not the rule. Kevin Herget, Enoli Paredes, and Janson Junk have sample sizes that are too small to draw any major conclusions. Paredes’ seven scoreless innings are undoubtedly impressive, and Herget has already had three multi-innings appearances but with a total of just 19 ⅔ innings pitched between these three (and Junk has barely pitched since the start of May and was just recalled at the start of June). Joel Payamps is a more complex case. Last year, he posted a 2.55 ERA in 70 ⅔ innings with ten games finished and three saves. This year, he’s added more than an entire run to his ERA but has the same H/9 (7.3), a lower HR/9 (0.9), and fewer BB/9 (1.7) than he did in 2023. So what gives? If I had to blame one thing, it would be his slider. He went from a .279 opposing slugging percentage to .406 while also seeing his strikeout rate on the pitch decrease by 12.7%. His sinker went from having the highest wOBA (.396) to the second-lowest wOBA (.258) behind his four-seam fastball. Trevor Megill is intriguing in the other direction. After a career start marred by inconsistency with the Cubs and Twins, he has finally found his groove in the great state of Wisconsin. After posting a career-best 3.63 ERA in 2023, he’s improved even more and has even picked up his first career saves, eight in total so far. His scorching fastball is striking batters out at its highest rate ever (29.8%). He’s also got a gross knuckle curve with a 60.6% whiff rate and a 53.8% strikeout rate. The Brewers Could Use More Strikeouts Despite having the sixth-best team reliever ERA, the reliever K/9 figure of 8.43 is 19th in MLB. The bullpen has relied on soft contact over the past few years and has just two players, Trevor Megill, and Bryan Hudson, with more than 10.0 K/9. It also makes sense that they are two of the best performers on the team. Sure, it can be argued that outs from balls in play are outs just the same. A good example is Wade Miley, who posted a 3.14 ERA in 2023 with just 5.9 K/9. However, success for low-strikeout pitchers takes a lot of work to sustain, especially for relievers. Locking down the opposing lineup in late innings would be a huge boost to any bullpen’s productivity. The question then becomes, would they be willing to sacrifice one of their current arms for an arm with a feast-or-famine playstyle? Take Cubs starter Ben Brown as an example. He has an excellent strikeout rate (29.6%) that sits in the 86th percentile of qualified pitchers but an average exit velocity (92.6 mph) in the first percentile. It has brought him a respectable 3.33 ERA so far through his first seven starts, so maybe it’s not the end of the world. Injury Returns The biggest name to return is obviously Devin Williams, who has been sidelined with stress fractures in his back since spring training. He was a popular subject of trade discussions along with Willy Adames and Corbin Burnes. He’ll be a free agent in 2026 and is a remarkable talent, although it remains to be seen how he’ll perform after returning from his injury. If he comes back, it’s assumed that Megill could still be kept around with one of the less important names, like Janson Junk, moved to clear roster space. The only other injured reliever of note is J.B. Bukauskas, who landed on the 60-day IL in April due to a right lat strain. He’s barely pitched in his two years with Milwaukee so far, compiling just 12 total innings of work. While he was productive in those innings with a 0.75 ERA, it’s doubtful that his return will lead to any major shifts in personnel. Young Guns From the Farm The Brewers have some great pitching talent in their minor league system. Robert Gasser has already made his debut with the rotation (although he might be the latest in a long list of injured Milwaukee pitchers). Jacob Misiorowski has been the talk of the town for a while and has been dealing in his first ten starts in Double-A. Carlos F. Rodriguez hasn’t had the same success at Triple-A as in Double-A, but he’ll hopefully figure things out soon. Outside of these three names, who are being groomed to be part of the rotation, it doesn’t seem like other players could potentially be called up to hold things down in relief. Brett Wichrowski is the next closest pitcher to the big leagues and has a 6.27 ERA over his first five starts with the Biloxi Shuckers. Logan Henderson’s highest level of competition has been high-A. Bradley Blalock and Coleman Crow are similarly far away from reaching the highest level of baseball. Will some of these prospects eventually be good enough to claim their roster spots on the major league squad? Of course, but for now, the team is better off working with what they have. Even if the bullpen remains the same, it’s still a strong unit and a big reason why the team is still leading the NL Central. However, as seen in last year’s playoff run, you need every advantage you can get in the sport of baseball. Otherwise, you might be out of the playoffs sooner rather than later. View full article

The Brewers had a great month in May, going 16-12 while posting a +40 run differential. The team’s .754 OPS was the third best in MLB with a few hitters spearheading the offensive efforts. To me, Milwaukee’s lineup has exceeded expectations, especially relative to the rest of the teams in the big leagues. It’s a big reason why they have such a comfortable lead over the Chicago Cubs and are looking like the favorites to win the NL Central for the fourth time in five years. Here are some of the unexpected names swinging hot bats for the team. Honorable Mentions Gary Sánchez 67 PA, .250/.313/.483, 15 H, 2 2B, 4 HR, 10 R, 13 RBI, 5 BB, 20 K, 1 HBP Sánchez hasn’t been able to find a stable home since leaving the Yankees but had a great year in 2023 with the Padres, serving as Blake Snell’s preferred catcher on his way to the NL Cy Young award. Now that we’ve seen Sánchez in action, it’s clear that he’s still a plus-bat with the ability to suit up every once in a while. He’s mostly played as a designated hitter this season and for the most part has been earning his keep. His approach hasn’t changed much in the past few years and he has always been a “swing first, ask questions later” type of hitter which explains his high strikeout rate and poor plate discipline numbers. However, his ability to come up clutch with home runs when needed can’t be understated. William Contreras 125 PA, .301/.368/.469, 34 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 R, 21 RBI, 12 BB, 24 K, 2 SB Contreras has been an absolute workhorse, still leading the team in plate appearances, hits, RBI, walks, and rWAR. Furthermore, he’s leading the National League in total runs, no doubt a credit to him as well as the rest of his coworkers. He slowed down a bit after posting a blistering .952 OPS in April/March but still managed to have a big impact for the team. His season OPS+ of 153 is the best it has ever been in his young career although it may be at the cost of some of his defensive abilities. I think it’s safe to say that the Brewers catching tandem is one of the most lethal in the sport. As many are already aware, catchers aren’t typically known for their hitting. For the Brewers to have two of the best offensive catchers in the sport, it seems almost unfair to the other teams struggling to have league-average backstop bats. Did I mention that he’s also clutch? Christian Yelich 88 PA, .321/.398/.474, 25 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 14 R, 16 RBI, 10 BB, 20 K, 6 SB, Yelich got off to a smoking start this season, posting a 1.166 OPS in April/March. Then, he went on the 10-day IL due to a low back strain. It might have been assumed that, like seasons past, he’d once again be held back by his recurring back woes, even after returning to the lineup. Although he didn’t stay quite as hot, Yelich still put up great numbers over a larger sample size in the month of May. Notably, he has been running quite well, stealing six bases and hitting two triples. His season OPS and OPS+ of .971 and 175 are both the highest on the team. He’s still got a ways to go before he has enough plate appearances to qualify but he would have the sixth highest OPS in MLB, right behind Kyle Tucker and ahead of Gunnar Henderson. It might sooner rather than later that we get the old Christian Yelich back. Hitter of the Month - Joey Ortiz 88 PA, .307/.391/.587, 23 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 16 R, 12 RBI, 9 BB, 11 K, 2 HBP, 1 SB Oh boy, Joey Ortiz is so good. If it weren’t for the steep competition of pitchers including Shota Imanaga, Paul Skenes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Jared Jones, he’d have a real good chance of winning NL Rookie of the Year. After a good start, he had a monstrous May, posting a .981 OPS and doing it all. There’s a good reason he was the Orioles’ #8 ranked prospect in 2023, a great placement for one of the talented farm systems in the sport. Matt Trueblood had an incredibly insightful piece about how his uptick in performance could make him an invaluable infield piece for the Brewers over the next several years. A re-engineering of his swing to improve his quality of contact and get more bat speed has done wonders for his power and slugging numbers. His slugging percentage increased by a whopping .181 from April/March to May. Did it hurt to lose Corbin Burnes? Sure, but Ortiz and his outstanding play has helped soften the blow and could even help Milwaukee win the trade in the long run. View full article

After a slew of rough outings, he was outstanding in seven innings against the Marlins. What did he do differently, and how can he keep it up? Image courtesy of © Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports After a slew of rough outings, he was outstanding in seven innings against the Marlins. What did he do differently, and how can he keep it up? Most fans know how good Freddy Peralta can be when he’s at his best. 2021 was the best year of his career and saw him post a 2.81 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 12.2 K/9 over 144 ⅓ innings pitched. Stellar numbers that haven’t been repeated since. In the 300 ⅓ innings he has pitched after the conclusion of the 2021 season, he’s averaged a 3.78 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP and 11.0 K/9—still good figures, but not as good as they were or could be. If you've watched him pitch for a while, you should know how wildly inconsistent he can be. In 2023, he had six starts with 10+ strikeouts, but he also had seven starts with four or more earned runs in fewer than six innings. Some of these rough outings were absolutely brutal, including an outing on May 26th against the Giants that saw San Francisco run the score up to 10-1 by the end of the third inning. This year, that inconsistency returned at a similar time. In his first three starts in May, he conceded 11 earned runs in 16 innings with opposing batters combining for an .849 OPS against him. As the team’s current ace, adjustments needed to be made to keep Milwaukee atop the NL Central. In his most recent start, he finally dialed it up and returned to the prime Peralta we all know and love, striking out seven and giving up just one earned run. So what changed? If we want to be lazy about it, we can chalk it up to the fact that he made his first three starts against the Cubs, Cardinals, and Astros, three teams more competitive than the Marlins (although that's not saying much). However, the Cubs and Cardinals are 21st and 23rd respectively in terms of team OPS, so it’s not like they’re offensive juggernauts like the Astros are. In his first three starts, he gave up 19 hits, nine of which were off his fastball and seven off his slider. At first glance, this seems about even, but he threw 150 fastballs and just 69 sliders, so that seems like the first place to start digging. Like most breaking balls, sliders are often most effective when no, and double-t in the middle of the strike zone. He struggled with commanding his slider to follow this rule in his first three starts and kept landing in batter-friendly territory. To illustrate Master McKibbin’s point even further, a peek at a frequency and placement heat map of his slider in the first three starts of May shows that the pitch was just far too hittable. Of the seven hits he gave up on the slider, two were home runs, and one was a double. In his start against Miami, the slider was where it needed to be, down and away from right-handed batters. Sure, a few were dangerously close to the middle, but they were the exception and not the norm, which may have been why he only gave up one hit on 22 pitches. When his slider is executed and located well, it's incredibly hard to hit and often makes a fool of opposing players at the plate. Another aspect that might boost his game could be increased changeup usage. He’s been using it roughly 15% of the time for the past two years, but it’s been quite effective this year, getting a whiff rate of 41.5% and a strikeout rate of 31.8%. The shape of the pitch is more down than away, with most ending up at the bottom of the zone, but opposing batters have had a tough time against it so far, averaging just .150 in 2024. The thing is, we already know his four-seam fastball is one of the best in the business. Stuff+ is a pretty nebulous concept, but it’s something worth noting, especially since Peralta has the second-highest Stuff+ rating (132) on his fastball in MLB, behind just Jared Jones (142) and ahead of elite arms like Hunter Greene (129), Tyler Glasnow (119), and Luis Castillo (117). However, it’s clear he needs a secondary weapon that’s just as potent. In his All-Star 2021 season, he combined his slider and curveball to achieve great results. Since then, he’s struggled to find the same chemistry within his arsenal, but green shoots are showing through the soil. A better-located slider and a more frequent changeup could see him finally reach his incredibly high ceiling as a starting pitcher for the Brewers. View full article

I'm gonna be honest - I didn't even know you could have negative reputation on this site.

NL MVP race is going to be hard enough with Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts playing the way that they are 😬. Hope Contreras figures it out, Milwaukee pitchers need all the help they can get this season.

It’s no secret that the Brewers rotation has been devastated by injury this year. Fortunately, one of the few remaining healthy starters has stepped up in a big way. Image courtesy of © Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK One look at the Brewers depth chart is all it takes to realize just how grim the starting pitching picture is. Jakob Junis and Wade Miley were both placed on the 60-day IL, joining Brandon Woodruff. DL Hall was placed on the 15-day IL with a left knee sprain and, according to Pat Murphy, he’s progressing slowly and is still without a clear timeline to return. Things are so bad that Bryse Wilson has been moved from long reliever to starter on a quasi-permanent basis. With the team also trading Corbin Burnes in the offseason, the rotation is a mere shadow of what it was just last year, when it had the sixth-best ERA in baseball at 3.94. Without their two best pitchers from the past few years, the remaining arms have to step up in a big way. As the new ace, Freddy Peralta has been fine, but not (yet) mind-blowing. His 3.63 ERA is in line with his career average of 3.81, so it’s not like he’s had a meteoric improvement. Arguably, the most impressive pitcher so far has been Iowa’s favorite son, Colin Rea. After struggling for years to find a stable roster spot in MLB, Rea signed for a second stint with the Brewers in 2023. Thanks to ample injuries that year, too, he made more than 20 starts for the first time in his career. He was all right, posting a 4.55 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over his 124 ⅔ innings of work, giving them what a modern contender needs from a back-of-the-rotation guy. With names like Burnes, Woodruff, and Peralta in front of him, he didn’t need to be anything more than that, but after re-signing with the team this year, his role has grown considerably in scope and expectations. Since his bump in responsibility, he’s posted a 3.45 ERA. A quick peek at his arsenal shows that it’s more or less the same as last year’s. He still primarily relies on his sinker/cutter tandem, and his four-seam fastball is still one of his best pitches. However, his sweeper has made some drastic improvements. Last year, batters averaged .226 against it--not bad. This year, he’s increased his usage of the pitch from 10.9% to 17.1%, but opposing batters have yet to get a hit against it. He’s added some extra movement since last year--three more inches of vertical drop and three more inches of horizontal break, to be specific. In exchange for more movement, he seems to have lost a few ticks of velocity, averaging 81.7 mph on the pitch vs. last year’s average of 83.1 mph, increasing the difference between that pitch and his fastball and making the sweeper more effective. Batters are also averaging just .118 against his fastball, even though that pitch hovers around 92 mph, hardly a fireball of any sort. Despite the good ERA, though, there are some concerning secondary indicators here. Rea's strikeout rate of 15.7% is the lowest it has ever been in his career. His WHIP of 1.26 is respectable, but dependent on his defense. His walk rate of 6.8% is satisfactory, but his opponents' batting average of .243 is slightly up from last year. He also has an expected opponent average of .304 and an expected ERA of 5.77, pointing to some good fortune. The culprit behind these numbers are clear: he’s getting pounded on his two most frequently used pitches. Here are the numbers for his sinker and cutter. Usage% BA SLG wOBA Whiff% K% Sinker 29.3 .318 .455 .397 10.7 6.0 Cutter 25.2 .371 .714 .478 16.4 5.3 His cutter is getting hit especially hard. With a slugging percentage of .714, it’s hard to expect that continued use of the pitch will be conducive to success in the long term. A lot of the time, it just kind of hangs in the middle of the zone, and with an average velocity of just 87.7 mph, it’s not a competitive pitch. The sinker is better, although still not good; it also suffers from lackluster placement. Here’s a heat map of all of the cutters and sinkers he’s thrown this season. See if you can find where they mostly end up in the strike zone! With a greater level of importance placed on his spot in the rotation, it’ll be interesting to see what adjustments (if any) Rea decides to make. Will he start to use his four-seam fastball and sweeper more often, and his cutter and sinker less? He worked on a splitter this winter, too. Will we start to see more of that pitch? How does he plan to stay competitive, given his less-than-overpowering “stuff?” Only time will tell. For now, Rea has already exceeded the expectations of many. View full article

This article and Turang's approach this year vs. last year reminds me of when someone asked Ichiro why he didn't try to hit home runs. Ichiro responded by saying that he could probably hit 40 bombs a year if he wanted to but then he'd average ~.240 and it wouldn't be as beneficial to the team. Turang is fast and his swing clearly isn't conducive to a damage-first approach. It seems obvious that removing a lot of the noise has allowed him to finally catch up to fastballs and even something as simple as replacing a leg kick with a toe-tap has clearly paid dividends.

Milwaukee just acquired the right-hander from the Giants in exchange for cash. Here’s what he’s all about. Image courtesy of © John Jones-USA TODAY Sports Since making his major-league debut in 2020, Mitch White has bounced around from the Dodgers, to the Blue Jays, to the Giants, and has now landed in the unmatched beauty of Wisconsin. Initially being groomed as a starter, he struggled immensely before Toronto moved him to the bullpen full-time in 2023. the 29-year-old still hasn’t found a ton more stability since and is probably being seen as a project more than anything. So what does he do well? Well, since he’s pitched just 28 major league innings in 2023 and 2024 combined, it’s hard to say. In fact, it might be best to look at the 55 2/3 innings he spent with the AAA Buffalo Bisons in 2023 to get the most complete picture. He posted a 5.50 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 12 starts. His K/9 figure of 10.83 was pretty good and his sweeper/slider combination was arguably his most potent, posting a cumulative K/BB rate of 3.75. While he also managed to earn quite a few strikeouts with his different fastballs, his overall K/BB rate on his four-seam and sinker was significantly worse at 1.26. Consequently, he had a 6.43 ERA against his four-seam fastball compared to a 3.86 ERA against his sweeper. When looking at the pitch frequency of both pitches, it’s clear that the placement of his fastball is simply too hitter-friendly. A lack of elevation and concentration in the heart of the strike zone are likely to blame, especially with a subpar average velocity around 93-94 mph. On the other hand, his sweeper frequency chart was more encouraging with many of these pitches tailing away with strong downward and glove-side movement. His sweeper hovers around 42.4 inches of drop and 16.2 inches of horizontal break, impressive figures. However, in his 15 1/3 innings so far in 2024, his pitching seems to have turned upside down. Instead, he’s struggled with his sweeper/slider while his four-seam fastball seems to have improved significantly. It’s a little higher in the zone and closer to the edges. and while it still has room for improvement, it seems to be going in the right direction. This is over a small sample size so things might still be subject to change but with the Brewers’ uncanny ability to often get the best out of their pitching staff, they might have an uncovered gem here in Mitch White. It remains to be seen exactly what sort of role he’ll be filling but with Bryse Wilson thrust into the rotation because of team injuries (the team currently has three starters on the 60-day IL, which one you walked under a ladder?), he might be a perfect substitute long reliever. Because the rotation currently lacks a true veteran presence/workhorse, it wouldn’t be surprising for Pat Murphy to go to the bullpen earlier and more often. This would make White’s stamina a strong asset given the team’s current pitching needs. It should also be noted that Milwaukee simply paid cash, so in the worst case scenario this doesn’t go very well and the team’s future is still largely held intact. To make room for him on the roster, the Brewers have designated RHP Corbin Martin for assignment. White was originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft out of Santa Clara. He ranked among the organization's top prospects into the 2021 season. He made his big-league debut and pitched in two games in 2020. In 2021, he posted a 3.66 ERA over 21 games and 46 2/3 innings. In 2022, he made 15 appearances including 10 starts for the Dodger. In early July, he was traded to the Blue Jays and pitched in 10 more games for the Blue Jays (8 starts). In 2023, he pitched in 10 games out of the Jays bullpen. Out of options, 2024 has been a roller coaster for White. He opened the season with the Jays, but by April 20th, he was DFAd and claimed by the Giants. He pitched in just three games for San Francisco before being DFAd early this week. Do you see a role in which Mitch White remains in the Brewers big-league bullpen or do you think he could be DFAd in the very near future with the hope that he clears waivers and can be sent to Nashville for depth? View full article

The Brewers offense has been even better than expected so far this season, combining for a .757 OPS, fourth in MLB. Who led the charge? Baseball is a team sport, and it was definitely a group effort to get the team to where it is today. While there will always be one player who stands out above the rest, here are a few other names whose performances are worth noting. Honorable Mentions Rhys Hoskins .237/.342/.464, 114 PA, 23 H, 4 2B, 6 HR, 13 R, 18 RBI, 12 BB, 23 K, 4 HBP, 1 SB Despite missing all of the 2023 season, Hoskins seems just as sharp as he was in 2022. He started the season a little cold but quickly made up for lost time. He’s been barreling the ball pretty frequently (14.1%, 90th percentile) and chasing infrequently (19.5%, 90th percentile) but is striking out and whiffing around the league average. His average exit velocity of 88.2 mph and max exit velocity of 107.4 mph are the lowest they’ve ever been in his career. Still, his expected slugging percentage is the third-highest it’s ever been. Given his high barrel rate, his launch angle and improvement have improved in years past. Willy Adames .270/.369/.441, 130 PA, 30 H, 7 2B, 4 HR, 16 R, 17 RBI, 17 BB, 26 K, 1 HBP, 4 SB Adames is having a much better year than he did in 2023. With no funky foul ball injuries, he’s back to his old ways. His barrel and walk rates are in the top quartile despite, similar to Rhys Hoskins, having an unspectacular average exit velocity of 89.5 mph. He’s cut down the strikeouts and whiffs by a lot since last season, but he’s still whiffing more than ~80% of qualified players in the league. It’s imperative that he plays at his best, given that he’s heading into free agency next year. Whether he chooses to remain in Milwaukee or move to greener pastures elsewhere, his stock has the possibility of remaining high if he keeps it up. If the Brewers don’t anticipate being the highest bidder for his services, he could still be used as a powerful trade piece. Brice Turang .312/.375/.441, 104 PA, 29 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 15 R, 12 RBI, 10 BB, 14 K, 14 SB Turang has taken the biggest step forward out of anyone on this team. His plate discipline has been exceptional so far, and he’s also been able to hit the ball harder than last year, adding ~4 mph to his average exit velocity. I wrote about how his higher on-base percentage has allowed him to finally utilize his wicked speed, but aside from the ruckus he’s caused on the basepaths, his hitting approach is simply better than it was in his rookie year. Jake McKibbin dove a little deeper into some detailed changes to his approach, and although it may have seemed like an early-season fluke, Turang doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He continues to put up excellent numbers and remains an on-base threat for any team’s pitching staff. Hitter of the Month - William Contreras .345/.418/.534, 134 PA, 40 H, 7 2B, 5 HR, 27 R, 23 RBI, 14 BB, 27 K, 2 HBP, 2 SB There shouldn’t have been any doubt as to who the most valuable bat in the Brewers lineup was. Second to just Salvador Perez in terms of OPS for March/April, Contreras has put up exceptional numbers while still maintaining his defensive demands behind the dish. He hasn’t been the best at avoiding whiffs and strikeouts, but he’s been hitting the ball so hard that it doesn’t seem to matter much. He’s already got an average exit velocity of 94.3 mph and a max exit velocity of 114.4 mph this season. His hard-hit rate of 57.7% is good enough for the 98th percentile of qualified hitters, and it shows in his slash line, which boasts a little bit of everything. He has a slightly more aggressive approach this year, which has lent itself to more power but potentially worse swing decisions, so it remains to be seen how opposing pitchers will adjust to get around his scorching bat. View full article

The Brewers recently called up Tyler Black, who made his debut in an action-packed game against the Tampa Bay Rays. What should fans expect from the newest face on the major-league roster? Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Picked 33rd overall in the 2021 draft, Black primarily spent time at second base at Wright State University. After continuing this trend for his first two minor league seasons, he moved to third base in 2023 with a handful of games spent at first base. With 60-grade hit-and-run tools, he’s a speedy fella who swings a mean bat. In 2023, he slashed .284/.417/.513 and stole 55 bases across a combined 557 plate appearances in Double-A and Triple-A. Regarding his approach, MLB.com had this to say: He got off to a similarly hot start in 2024, spending the entirety of the season in Triple-A and slashing .303/.393/.525 with a double, three triples, and five home runs over his 117 plate appearances. He’s only stolen three bags, but the three triples should quell fears that his speed has left him. So why was he called up now? While it’s hard to be sure, one can make a few assumptions. In his major-league debut, he was initially called in as a pinch-runner to replace an injured Gary Sánchez and remained in as the designated hitter, so we didn’t get a clue as to which corner of the infield he’d be tasked with. However, it seems like either position will work. The Brewers are 21st in MLB for both OPS from first base (.641) and OPS from third base (.657), so it could use Black’s hit tool in both places. Much of the third base performance has been dragged down by Oliver Dunn’s sluggish .538 OPS, but Joey Ortiz has been spectacular, posting a .791 OPS from the hot corner. First base, on the other hand, has been split between Rhys Hoskins and Jake Bauers. Both have been more or less as advertised, with Hoskins boasting a .787 OPS and Bauers limping along with a .633 OPS. Realistically, Black will be a useful backup option (at least for now) for both corners of the infield. Milwaukee has demonstrated a remarkable amount of infield flexibility this season, and his utility fits right into the already fluid puzzle. The Brewers are off to a great start at 18-11, but with continued roadblocks for their starting pitchers, they'll need all of the offense they can get if they want to remain atop their division. The Cubs are breathing down their necks at 18-12, and the Reds aren't too far behind at 16-14. He won't be able to carry the lineup singlehandedly, but maybe he'll be a much-needed spark plug for his teammates at the plate. View full article

In an outfield full of talent, one player has managed to stand out above the rest and exceed expectations, "perking" up the Milwaukee offense. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Let’s turn back the clock a few weeks to right before the start of the regular season. When the Opening Day roster was announced, the biggest story was definitely the inclusion of phenom prospect Jackson Chourio, but an equally as intriguing and related topic was the Milwaukee outfield picture. Joining proven veteran Christian Yelich and talented sophomore Sal Frelick was Blake Perkins, a seemingly clear backup option to the three men in front of him on the depth chart. In fact, with other names like Garrett Mitchell still in the mix, it didn’t seem like Perkins would receive much playing time, especially after a relatively lackluster rookie season in 2023. Fast forward to now. Christian Yelich is on the injured list due to back issues, Garrett Mitchell is on the 60-day IL with a broken hand he suffered in spring training, Jackson Chourio has been struggling at the plate, and Blake Perkins has the second-best offensive numbers out of any qualified player on the team. So what happened? Let’s start at the very top. In 2023, he slashed .217/.325/.350 over 168 plate appearances. In 2024, so far, he’s slashed .322/.437/.475 over 71 plate appearances. His walk rate has been roughly the same between the two seasons (it was higher in 2023 by 1.0%), and his ISO went from .133 to .153, a modest improvement. Thus, we can conclude that his big jump in batting average has driven up his numbers considerably. So what caused that? First, he’s striking out slightly less. He punched out at a 27.4% clip last year vs. the 22.5% rate he’s at this year. Second, his BABIP has skyrocketed from .290 to .415. This naturally led me to ask whether the BABIP increase is organic or a function of good luck. His xBA of .247 indicates that he may have been luckier than not, but I wanted to keep digging to see what more I could find. As a switch hitter, I was naturally curious to see if he had improved his performance on one side of the dish more than the other. Here are his handedness splits from both years. 2023 OPS 2024 OPS +/- vs. RHP as LHB .690 .941 + 0.251 vs. LHP as RHB .603 .762 + 0.159 Okay, so it seems he’s gotten significantly better at hitting right-handed pitching as a lefty. This shows in his heat map as well. When mapping batting average by portion of the strike zone for his lefty plate appearances, we see much better coverage in 2024 (right) than in 2023 (left). Part of this has also been due to making more aggressive swing decisions. He’s been whiffing more frequently, but by taking more “G hacks,” he’s been able to make harder contact more often, increasing his hard-hit rate from 29.3% to 44.2% and his average exit velocity from 85.8 mph to 89.0 mph. This is relevant for all of his plate appearances, not just his lefty ones. In a side-by-side comparison of his exit velocities for both years, we see higher values, especially in the middle of the zone. Some might expect some future regression from Perkins and are probably somewhat correct. If he’s somehow able to maintain an OPS around his current figure of .921 for the whole season, I’d be absolutely blown away. What will make things even more interesting is how the return of Christian Yelich will affect his total playing time. The Brewers haven’t set a date for Yelich to return, but he’s been participating in on-field activity over the last few days. So far, Perkins has mostly been playing center field while Frelick and Wiemer have been playing left field, and Chourio has been playing right. When Yelich returns to left field, how will Pat Murphy arrange the lineup? Will Perkins stay in until he cools off? Who goes out? How long will it take for him to return to his mortal form if he ever does? In the sport of baseball, no one knows. For now, let’s enjoy the Blake Perkins show while it lasts. View full article

With his drastically improved performance at the plate this year, the Brewers have finally been able to unleash the full might of their middle infield speed demon. Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Brice Turang seems like a whole new player this year. After posting a .585 OPS in his rookie season, he’s managed to put together a slash line of .327/.367/.455 for an OPS+ of 130 in his sophomore campaign. So, what has changed intrinsically about his game? First and foremost, his performance against four-seam fastballs has gotten much better. He was one of the worst hitters against the fastball last year, averaging just .198 and striking out 25.7% of the time against the pitch. This year, he’s averaging .444 and whiffing just 5.9% of the time. He’s still striking out at around the same rate, but he’s clearly gotten better at catching up to the fastball and making contact. Here are more advanced swing/contact statistics against four-seam fastballs at >95 mph. 2023 2024 Swing % 61.9 59.2 Miss % 26.5 6.9 Contact % 73.5 93.1 In Play % 15.2 20.7 He’s swinging just a little less, but a 20% increase in contact and a 5% increase in in-play rate is a quantitative testament to how much work he likely did in the offseason to fix one of the biggest holes in his approach. He’s also gotten much better at hitting the high fastball. Here was his wOBA against four-seam fastballs in 2023 (left) vs. the wOBA against four-seam fastballs in 2024 (right). It seems like the only part of the strike zone he was comfortable with before was the lower inside corner, whereas this year, he's starting to get some thump in the upper half. A video example of this can be seen as well. Here’s a high fastball from last year against which Turang recorded an exit velocity of just 69.8 mph. In contrast, here’s one from the Orioles series that was off the bat at 103.3 mph. He has increased his batting average from .218 to .327 and his on-base percentage from .285 to .367. For most players, this would be the end of the story, but with Turang, another aspect to his playstyle makes this even more important. Brice Turang has some wheels. He has always had wheels. His sprint speed was in the 95th percentile last year and is in the 97th percentile this year. He stole 26 bases in 2023, which was pretty cool, but his OBP of just .285 completely hamstrung him. This year, given more opportunities to be on-base to begin with, he’s already leading MLB in stolen bases with nine. He's got more than notable speedsters Ronald Acuña Jr. and Corbin Carroll. To illustrate the quantitative advantage of such theft, Jake McKibbin recently had a great piece that covered the Brewers’ speed at a team level. On an individual level, Turang’s on-base/speed combination also makes him productive at any spot in the lineup. He could be a top-of-the-order guy who causes a ruckus on the base paths. Alternatively, he could act as a table-setter closer to the bottom of the order. He still lacks the pop of some other players on the team, but Turang’s niche and role on the team cannot be understated. In addition to his newfound hitting skills, he continues to play elite defense and has already accumulated two outs above average. He’s only 60 plate appearances into the season so far, but I think those alarms you hear tell you it’s Turang time. View full article